Kaz

Sorry I didn't get this up sooner. Most of you know that Kaz Sczepanik, long time Chanel teacher and administrator passed away a few weeks ago. As the former alumni director, he was my first contact at the school when we started to put the reunion together. He was very helpful with ideas etc...

All thoughts are with his family and friends.

Gallery

Hey guys, the pics are up! Just go to this link and you can download whatever you want...(why anyone would want to download the pic of Fred and Ken is beyond me...you'l know which one...possibly blackmail?)

1986 photo gallery

Try the slideshow and don't forget to hit either "view all" or "next". I have it set to show only 20 pics per page...faster page loading. The site's a bit slow but it was free and should be adequate.

Again, if anyone has any more pics, send them my way and I'll put them up.

andestoltz@yahoo.com

Uh, coming right up...

Photos are on the way...there's a little tweaking to be done. I'm going out of town for the weekend(again). Check back Tuesday night. They'll be up for sure.

Editor's choice

We're meeting tomorrow to sort through pics, so they should be up within a couple of days. We'll post them all, unless something is really bad...In the meantime, here's a little shameless promotion for my other blog:

built for walking

This is my cyber-soapbox where I review, report and pontificate on a cornucopia of topics, ranging from travel, local issues and whatever else I think is effective in wasting other people's time.

A job well done

Class of 86,
The past weekends' events were really amazing. The response was great and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves tremendously. All told, we had 27 guys make it out, and only 5 no-shows(guys who said they were coming but didn't). Saturday night, we had a group of 32, including wives and girlfriends. That may not sound like much, but that comes out to roughly 1/3 of our class. I have been told that these numbers are really great for Chanel reunions. There were also about a 1/2 dozen guys who really wanted to come but just couldn't make it out. Ultimately, these numbers don't mean jack sh*t because the guys who did come out, had a blast. It was especially cool to meet guys' wives and talk about their kids, jobs, pets, houses etc...

The Class of 86 stepped up and we had a damn fine party. Thanks to all!

There were tons of pictures taken. We will put together an online photo gallery and link it to this blog as well as any other gallerys and/or blogs that are assembled. That way everyone will have access to whatever photos they want. This will probably happen within a couple of weeks(I'm going out of town until next week...)

Keep in touch!

Come As You Are

In case you're wondering, you can still come Saturday even if you haven't paid your jack. Just bring $25 per person and show up. If you come alone, fine. If you bring a date, fine. Just show up.

Right now I am emotionally drained from the Cavaliers game 5. Go Cavs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I didn't know Dan Wade had such game.

A Tale of Two Hairlines

It was the best of times...

1985



















It was the worst of times...

1993








Alas, my youth's greatest pride and joy morphed into my young adulthood's greatest insecurity. Those of you who have experienced early male-pattern baldness know the feeling. Your forehead is dying to meet the back of your head...and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it. Or is there?


My solution
1995





A much more dignified choice than tedious, expensive and dubious-at-best hair replacement "systems".

Actually, I should have seen this coming:




















But I didn't. Instead, a barmaid at the old Akron Agora unceremoniously alerted me to the problem, which of course sent me into emotional turmoil for the next 7-8 years. Gee, thanks...

Say Cheese

For those of you who can't (or aren't) coming out this weekend, we will be putting up an online photo gallery, with a link on this page. So you'll still be able to get a look at folks...

For those of you who are coming, bring your cameras.

We've been getting more RSVPs. To see the most current list go here:

Again...

One week away

We had a telethon last night, talked to a few guys and left some messages...the list is growing. Some guys can only make it Friday, so whoever can come out both nights will have a better chance of seeing everyone. We're also starting to hear back from some faculty...

The Fall of Nero

Does anyone know how the hell to get in touch with Tom Nero? He lives in Garfield.

We made some calls tonight(so far Dan Wade had the worst last minute excuse - "uh, I'll be out of town all next week"...ok, hope you have a nice trip). We got a hold of a few guys we hadn't heard from yet, so it looks like we'll get a good turnout.

20 years, guys.

You can still come even if you didn't make the deadline. Just bring $25 per person with you to A.J. Rocco's, but please let us know. If you are only coming to Champ's Friday night, just bring yourself. Feel it out, if it seems cool, come back Saturday. We can always order extra food from the adjacent establishments.

20 years.

I hate the idea of some guys who might want to come but didn't get the info, so if you know how to get a hold of any of them, let them know what's happening.

Again...

Just a warning:
If we don't get your rsvp ($$$ and how many) by Wednesday the 10th, we'll be calling you! We have divided up the list and we'll start bothering you Thursday. Again, we have heard from some of you saying you're coming but we need to pay for the food up front. If you can't make the 10th deadline, email or call us so we can work something out.

So far here's the list of guys who say they are coming:
Cortney Gilmore
Mike Moracz
Mike Naro
Tim Raines
Gerald Washington
Pat Kennedy
Christian Hunter
Tom Nero
Scott Sesny
Carl Hido
Art Lawrence
Chris Hetman
Marvin Johnson
Matt Madden
Jeff Miavitz
Ron Hrin
Dan Donovan
Keith Durham
Roland Lacy
Rod Lacy
Kevin Walker
Tom Bottger
Fred Day
John Dzurko
Tom Turner
Pat Vanderbilt
Ken Vagase
Dan Laguardia
Dan Abood
Andrew Stoltz

There are also several guys who said they are trying to make arrangements to come and some 3rd party rsvps(so and so says so and so will come) For a Chanel reunion, these numbers are very good. I suspect this will be a success. I have also extended an invitation to all of the teachers/coaches that were around when we were there. We'll see who shows.

Also, visits to this blog have been really solid, so I know guys are interested.

Things are heating up...

Pay up chumps!

Hey guys,
If you are coming, please send your $$ ASAP. We need to pay for the food up front and we want to get an accurate head count so that we don't get stuck with 1000 cocktail weenies...see the post "Update" for info.

Many of you have sent us emails and/or phone calls saying you are planning on attending, so we have a general idea of who's coming...however, remember this guy?


"I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today"






Not that we don't trust you but...well, we don't trust you too much. After all you went to Chanel.

In Memoriam

Some of you guys probably never knew this, but Brian Kosla passed away back in 1990. As far as I know, he is currently the only deceased member of our class.

Anyway, he was not allowed to attend our graduation ceremony due to an "incident" at prom. Afterwards, (maybe June?) I had a party at my house to celebrate(I seem to remember several parties between January and June) We dressed Brian up in graduation cap and gown,sang the graduation hymn as he walked down the steps and he seemed to get a big kick out of it. My mother still had this pic in a little photo album with the newspaper article about his death. I'm not sure if his family still lives in the area, but they might like to have this photo, so if anyone knows them, forward this onto them.

I was never super close with Brian but he was a really good guy - albeit a little crazy at times :)- and very funny. Who can ever forget him running full-tilt, head first into lockers, using the metal plate in his forehead as a helmet. Hilarious! That guy was one tough dude...

Cheers!

Update

I sent the last letter out yesterday...you guys should get them soon. This has all of the info you'll need: location, times, where to send your $$$ etc... Please try to remember to do this as we want to give the owner an approximate number of people so he can plan the food portions accordingly. If you can't make the RSVP deadline for some reason, or you forget, please call us so we can work things out. In short, here's the jist:

Friday, May 19th 7pm - ?
Champs Restaurant and Bar
5989 Canal Rd.
Valley View, Ohio
(216) 328-0083

Cash Bar, casual event, no date or RSVP required.


Saturday, May 20th 7pm - ?
Private Party @ A.J. Rocco’s Espresso Bar
816 Huron Rd. SE
Cleveland, Ohio
(216) 861-8358

Cash bar, casual event, dates or spouses welcome.
RSVP Required by Wednesday May 10th, 2006. Please send a check for $25 per person to:

John Dzurko
11612 Pleasant Ridge Place
Strongsville, Ohio 44136

*This price includes private use of the establishment from 8pm-11pm, hors d’oeuvres, parking, tomfoolery and shenanigans.

Parking
Off of East 9th, pull onto Bolivar Rd just North of Jacob’s Field. Turn into the second driveway on the right, this leads to a down ramp. Tell the attendants that you are with the Chanel High School Reunion. They will direct you to the private lot. A.J. Rocco’s is right around the corner on Huron Rd. next to Panini’s.

*The parking lot owners have requested that you get there between 6:30 and 8:30pm. There is an Indian’s game and a Concert at Q Arena, so the place will be crawling with people. If you can’t make it by 8:30, you may need to find other parking. This will probably be ridiculously expensive.



Also, I listed some names of classmates that we have not been able to locate and I just realized that I forgot a few. If you know how to get a hold of these guys, please let them know what's happening. Here's the list:

Aaron Smith
Vince Williams
Bill Sidoti
Brady McCann
James Kushner
Adam Keller
Rob Katoch
Tony Fears
James Cro
Dave Krol
Mike Mader

The "Norman Bates Award"

This is a scary picture...


















"Would you care to share my toasted cheese sandwich?"

-Norman Bates in Psycho II...before he introduces someone's head to the business end of his shovel.

The One Ring

Remember these?
















I remember paying about $75 for it(actually, my parents paid it...). Again, as with the jacket, instead of wearing it on my hand, my girlfriend wore it on a chain around her neck. Awe, how sweet:) Now, I wear rings regularly. In addition to my wedding band, I have a couple of other rings that I wear. I think they're cool. But I would never wear this one for the following reasons:

1. I'm not fat, but the damn thing only fits on my pinkie, and being of Italian persuasion, this is just too damn cheesy. I'm positive my wife just simply would not allow this...
2. The birth stone. My birth stone is the red garnet. There's something about red jewels that reminds me of either kings or popes...and I am neither.
3. It's a high-school class ring...'nuff said.



Having said this, I'm really glad I still have the thing. Otherwise I would have never been able to take this picture...


















Here's a few more for your viewing enjoyment:

Badge of Honor

I was at my parents house a couple of weeks ago and found this in their closet. While I was glad I earned it, I remember that I barely ever wore the thing. I hate wearing anything wool...makes me itch like hell, and the collar was full of the scratchy stuff(thank God for hoodies). Anyways, my girlfriend at the time loved wearing it...apparently it was some sort of female "badge of honor" left over from the 1950s. I must admit, it was fun seeing my wife in it...:)...let the comments begin.

Current Events

So here's where things stand. We met last week with the owner of A.J. Rocco's and things are looking really good. He is a 1984 graduate of Benedictine, so he very much understands the vibe and flavor we're going for. While we are starting this thing around 7pm, we have the place privately reserved between 8pm-11pm, at which time the food will be laid out and the general population will be shunned. After that folks will probably come trickling in as there is a Tribe game and a Pearl Jam concert just around the corner. About midnight, DJ McBoogie will start spinning beats. He performs there every third Saturday so this will not cost us anything. He comes highly regarded, doing a lot of the local high echelon parties (LeBron James' included). If this isn't your thing, there is an outside patio as well as several other places to take the conversations that will surely take place... all within walking distance. All of this will probably cost around $25 per person. This is for food, parking, gratuity and good times. Not bad. Again, if you so choose, bring wives, dates or significant others.

We'll be meeting again soon to figure out the location of the friday night gathering. Any and all ideas are welcome.

Peace,

as

Quality Athletics

Uh...not so good. As far as I can recall, the problem with this squad was lack of a quality offensive line. Particularly up the middle (i.e. center and one of the guards).

Any retorts? :)

By the way, where the hell is DeSales?

Reunion Renaissance

So, a few of us had a meeting the other night. The subject of conversation mainly centered around what to do Friday night (May 19th). We were joined by Marvin Johnson, who you may remember was our class vice president. The planning of this reunion took on a whole new vibe and energy with Marvin's presence. Aside from this being a great hang (I'm tellin' you, the Chanel vibe is alive and well), we came up with several ideas including a pick-up game of touch (only) football on Sunday, followed by breakfast. We are planning another get-together this week to discuss a few more details. We'll keep you guys informed as these things develop.

Losing Religion?

So, I was looking at this photo trying to figure out from which classroom this was taken. From what I can tell, this was Fr. James' religion class. Now, there were some odd characters that taught at Chanel around that time...but Fr. James was one downright eccentric cat. There was almost no way to predict his behavior whatsoever. Some things you could count on:

a.) He would stare in the opposite direction of the person he was reprimanding(a very uncomfortable moment if you were on the business end of that glare-kind of like looking into the eyes of an enraged, irrational wild beast...is he going to kill me?)

b.) Somebody would fart in the middle of dead silence. This would usually happen while we were reflecting on a Scripture reading in our "journals"(remember doing that?) This disturbace would usually send Fr. James into an emotional outrage, with him running from the room, slamming the door on his way out and leaving about 25 18-year-old men to sit there laughing uncomfortably. He usually came back but I seem to remember a few times when he didn't.

c.) Charles Clark would have one of his pretend "fits", falling on the floor, knocking a bunch of desks over, quivering and shaking while someone jammed a wallet into his mouth. This is one of the most hilarious things I ever saw anyone do at that school. I know it's in bad taste (especially if you've ever seen someone have a real seizure)...but what the hell, we were kids.

d.) Someone would inevitably leave one of these either on the chalkboard or on the projector screen:












This would usually send him running as well...

e.) On an exam day, we would spend almost the entire class period discussing tangential issues, then about 7-8 minutes before the end of the class, he would give us the exam. This was obviously ridiculous...an impossible task. But even more entertaining was the countdown to turn them in:
2 minutes...1 minute...30 seconds...17 seconds...9 seconds...4 seconds...1 second.

Wow.

Looking back on this, Fr. James probably had the early onset of dementia, which is a very sad condition. I've heard many people speak in high regard of him as a teacher as well as a man. I remember having a conversation with him (I don't know why or when) about fishing. He just seemed like a nice old man. Very grandfatherly. I can't say that I developed a deeper understanding of the scriptures but I sure did see some funny things in that class. And for me, humor is about as spiritual as it gets!

So, in spite of my sarcasm, here's to you Fr. James!

"English" Literature

Admitting girls to the school was a bad idea...

Why go to a class reunion?

So, I'm sitting here thinking of reasons why people would not like to go to a high school reunion.

Here's a few:

1. The people I want to see, I still see. Why go out of my way to see people I don't care about?
2. I didn't have a lot of friends. High school was a bad time and things were awkward for me.
3. I hated the school. My parents made me go there. The teachers didn't like me. The coaches didn't like me...etc...
4. I wasn't really involved in anything. I didn't like sports, I wasn't in plays, chess club or student council.
5. I'm really fat now.
6. I'm bald.
7. I'm not really successful and I'm embarrassed about how my life has turned out.
8. I can't afford it.
9. I've moved on with my life, what's the point in forced nostalgia?

So, using the same reasons, here's a few reasons to go to a high school reunion:

1. Maybe there are people that I didn't know very well that are kind of interesting. There may be business interest or networking opportunities. Plus, it's a good way to hang out with the people you do care about.
2. High school is weird for everybody...even the popular people. And people change. Sometimes for the better.
3. It's not really about the school. It's about the people you met while you were there.
4. Who cares about what you were involved with then. It's what you're involved in now that matters.
5. Most of us are fat in one way or another.
6. A lot of us are bald as well.
7. Well, I'm sure most people have a few regrets...for me, being alive and healthy qualifies as being successful.
8. You do what you can. If it's planned properly, it won't be expensive.
9. It's not about reliving the past; it's about reconnecting with some people who had a similar experience.

Some of you guys are on the fence I'm sure. You may see a reunion as cheesy and hokey. Maybe it is? Look at it this way: If for nothing else, a mild curiosity of what people look like and what they're doing is reason enough to attend. While high school should not be the peak of one's life, there certainly was some entertaining moments at that place that make a reunion worth having...

Spread the word...in the meantime, we're going to bug the sh*t out of you with letters and phone calls...

Faux Part

The part in Cortney's hair is awesome. I think I'll put one in my beard...or my back.

Get Involved

Hey Class,

If you are visiting this blog, please leave comments so that we know you're out there. So far it's been a little proprietary...just the guys planning the reunion. Also, I hope we made it clear in the letter(provided it wasn't thrown away first:) that we really want as much input as possible while we're planning this thing. We are counting on the fact that some of you guys still have occasional contact with at least one other classmate. This will help get more people to show up. Leaving comments is easy. Click on "comments" below each post, create a username and password and type the "hidden" word (this keeps shady web commerce from leaving auto-comments). We'd love to hear from you...even if we didn't hang out together in high school. Also, if you have any cool photos/images of yourselves, families, etc... email/send them to me and I will put them up here on the blog.

astoltz

Ties of the 1980s

Check out the neckties on these fellows...wow. I especially like the square knit style Mr. Day is sporting. Always the minister of style. Hey Vagase, is that thin white tie leather? It certainly looks like it. If not, I think Mr. Madden and Mr. Johnson's are indeed...

Brilliant.

Jersey Gate

Click photo to enlarge

Just before "Jersey Gate"...when a few rogue soccer hooligans tried to "steal" their jerseys...of course they all took shirts with their own numbers so it wasn't difficult to figure out who done it...20 demerits.

p.s. Let me know if I've wrongly accused anyone:)